dc circuit sex crimes
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United States Court of AppealsFOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUM BIA CIRCUIT
No. 10-3057 September Term, 2011FILED ON:FEBRUARY 21,2012
JOEL ANTONIO SANDOVAL,
APPELLANT
v.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
APPELLEE
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Columbia
(No. 1:09-cr-00083)
Before: TATEL,GARLAND, and KAVANAUGH, Circuit Judges.
J U D G M E N T
This appeal from a judgment of the United States District Court for the District of
Columbia was presented to the court and briefed by counsel. The court has afforded full
consideration to the issue presented and has determined that it does not warrant a
published opinion. See D.C.CIR.R.36(d). It is
ORDERED and ADJUDGED that the judgment of the district court be affirmed.
The issue on appeal is whether, following the appellants entry of a guilty plea for
travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct,see 18 U.S.C. 2423(b), the district
court properly raised his offense level under the United States Sentencing Guidelines
pursuant to U.S.S.G. 2A3.1(b)(6)(B). That provision prescribes a two-level
enhancement if the offense involved the use of a computer or an interactive computer
service, and that computer or computer service was used [1] to persuade, induce,
entice, or coerce a minor to engage in prohibited sexual conduct, or . . . [2] to facilitate
transportation or travel, by a minor or a participant, to engage in prohibited sexual
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conduct. The appellant objects to application of the enhancement and contends that the
district court failed to specify whether it was imposing it based on the first or second
ground described in 2A3.1(b)(6)(B).
The appellant did not make this objection in the district court, however, but rather
merely asserted that no specific offense characteristics should apply. J.A. 45. Because[a]n objection is not properly raised if it is couched in terms too general to have alerted
the trial court to the substance of the appellants point, our review is limited to whether
the district court committed plain error. United States v. Bolla, 346 F.3d 1148, 1152
(D.C. Cir. 2003) (internal quotation marks omitted)). There is no plain error here. In
deciding to apply the enhancement, the court explicitly adopted the findings of the
Presentence Investigation Report (PSR), which specified that U.S.S.G. 2A3.1(b)(6)(B)
should apply because [t]he offense involved the use of a computer to facilitate the travel
of the participant. PSR 14. The appellant did not dispute that finding, and indeed
there is no dispute that he used a Palm Pilot device to arrange the logistics of the
intended meeting. A trial court may accept any undisputed portion of [a] presentence
report as a finding of fact, FED.R.CRIM.P. 32(i)(3)(A);see, e.g., United States v.
Reeves, 586 F.3d 20, 23-24 (D.C. Cir. 2009), and the courts adoption of the PSR makes
clear that its rationale for applying the enhancement was based on the second prong of
2A3.1(b)(6)(B).
The Clerk is directed to withhold the issuance of the mandate herein until seven
days after the disposition of any timely petition for rehearing. See FED.R.APP.P.41(b);
D.C.CIR.R.41(a)(1).
Per Curiam
FOR THE COURT:
Mark J. Langer, Clerk
BY: /s/
Jennifer M. Clark
Deputy Clerk
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